Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has undergone emergency surgery after being shot in an assassination attempt overnight (AEST).

The pro-Russian leader was reportedly shot up to five times and remains in hospital following the shock incident.

Curtin University lecturer Dr Alica Kizekova – who is Slovakian – said Prime Minister Fico was a “very divisive figure” in the country.

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“He’s a very divisive figure and the longest serving prime minister,” she said on 3AW Breakfast.

“Before being re-elected last year, he was connected to a lot of cases undermining democracy.”

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